White Winter Honeysuckle - January 2021

My first set of images for 2021 come from a quick photo shoot I had in my back garden this week, which took place on a freezing cold Saturday afternoon.

As you'd suspect for the time of year, there wasn't a lot of flora or fauna to photograph, but I managed to grab a few images that made it worth spending some time out in the cold.

The first was of this small Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) bloom, which was from a cutting I'd taken a couple of years ago, and was still in a pot waiting to be planted into a more permanent place in the garden.

Bacopa Snowtopia - January 2021

Next, and not for the first time, I was astonished to see this Bacopa (Chaenostoma cordatum) 'Snowtopia' flowering in a more sheltered part of the garden. It had flowered for the majority of 2020, and looked like it was going to keep on going this year too.

White Wallflower - January 2021

Another plant that had flowered pretty much continuously since January last year was this Wallflower (Erysimum)...

Wallflower Promise - January 2021

...and as you can see, there were plenty more blooms to come judging by the number of flower buds on show.

Budding Daffodil - January 2021

It wouldn't be long now before the first Daffodil (Narcissus) blooms would be showing, and this multiple headed variety looked like it would be the first on parade.

Sweet Dream Rosehip - January 2021

There was hardly any colour in the garden, but Rose (Rosa) 'Sweet Dream' had produced a few rosehips, which were adding some welcome splashes of orange and red.

Decaying Calendula - January 2021

A run of frosty mornings had finally stopped the Pot Marigolds (Calendula) from flowering, and it was a shame to see them leave the garden.

Azalea Orange Bush - January 2021

Finally, a new addition to the garden was this Japanese Azalea (Azalea japonica). It was variety 'Orange', although it would take a good few years before I'd see it flowering. In the meantime I was happy to enjoy the evergreen foliage.

So this week I went with White Winter Honeysuckle as my Image of the Week simply because it was nice to see a cutting that I'd taken burst into flower...